It’s common for a property title to become muddy over time, making it difficult to determine who owns a property. There are assorted reasons why a title may lose its meaning — or why it was never clear to begin with — but it’s always an issue that should be resolved when buying or selling property. For properties in Florida that lack comprehensive titles, a quiet title lawsuit may be the best way to clear up the matter.
Clearing up title confusion
The “quiet” in quiet title lawsuit comes from the element of quieting the competing claims to the property in question. In most cases in which there are multiple claims on a property, this type of lawsuit is the best legal action to ensure that the rightful party prevails.
This type of lawsuit is also commonly used in cases of title defects or disputed interest. Whenever ownership requires clarification, or there are title discrepancies, this type of real estate litigation can be extremely helpful.
This type of legal action isn’t always an adversarial move. In many cases, parties will engage in a quiet title lawsuit on good terms, simply using it as a means to clear up title confusion. It is worth keeping in mind, though, that these ownership disputes can end up costing in the thousands even if the suit is uncontested.
A quiet title suit may resolve a lack of title clarity regarding:
- Easements
- Property boundaries
- Deed errors
- Previous ownership claims after probate or the sale of an estate
- Prior liens
Legal ownership of property is something that can become ambiguous when the elements of a title are thrown into question. When it’s necessary to settle these claim disputes, a quiet title lawsuit may be the way to make things clearer moving forward.
